Because of a need or desire to reach a given destination at a given time, it is not uncommon that vehicle drivers spend more time at the wheel than is reasonably prudent and safe, or spend time driving fatigued long past when they should be asleep. Accordingly, it is not surprising that vehicle accidents occur where the driver has dozed off at the wheel and where the vehicle has veered off the road. Accidents result not only in vehicle damage, property damage and severe injury of the driver; they can also result in the injury of other drivers or pedestrians in the area of the accident.
Research has shown that vehicle drivers may, to greater extent, become drowsy, in-alert or bored during driving in monotonous routes. In addition to the hazardous risks discussed above associated with a vehicle driver being fatigued or even dozing off at the wheel, it is furthermore common that a vehicle driver counteracts the monotony by potentially hazardous distractions, such as for instance by increasing speed or by texting messages.
Accordingly, in order to prevent vehicle drivers from being in-alert, dozing off, or from being bored while driving monotonous routes, solutions have been developed which identify monotonous routes.
US 2009/0231146, for instance, relates to a scene monotonousness calculation. It is disclosed how a monotonous calculation device has an image acquisition means for acquiring an exterior appearance image, and a monotonousness calculation means for calculating the monotonousness of a scene corresponding to the exterior appearance image.
However, although the approach of US 2009/0231146 enables a degree of monotony to be calculated very accurately, and accordingly enables a situation with a potentially in-alert driver to be identified, said solution requires utilization of image acquisition means. Moreover, the scene corresponding to the exterior appearance image is restricted to be within fairly close range of the vehicle.